They emerged in a narrow alley. Stone walls on either side hid their exit as they rushed toward Danny, who was dressed as Enzo, right down to the sunglasses. A woman wearing clothing identical to Kathleen’s stood next to Danny. She also had long red hair styled just like Kathleen’s. She wore oversized dark sunglasses.
“Oh my God,” Kathleen blurted out. “You look just like me.”
The woman grinned. “That is the idea. You and I are different, but we are a close enough match, I think.”
Enzo disagreed but remained silent. Kathleen’s features were more delicate, and there was a dusting of freckles across her nose. Also, her emerald green eyes were a show stopper as far as Enzo was concerned. It didn’t matter to people who didn’t know Kathleen, who weren’t attracted to her.
Maria, the woman dressed like Kathleen, was slightly taller, missing Kathleen’s charming freckles and brown eyes. But for Vitale’s men, who would only see her from afar, the deception would work, unless they got right in Maria and Danny’s faces. Enzo was betting it wouldn’t happen.
“We have to go,” he said, finally interrupting the women chattering about clothing sizes and their similarities.
“Good luck,” Danny said as they bumped shoulders. He then nodded to Kathleen. He took Maria’s hand and started off, and then turned back. “I almost forgot.” He handed a phone to Enzo and another to Kathleen.
“What’s this?” Kathleen asked.
“You can’t take your phone with you in case someone is tracking it.”
Kathleen looked like she was about to protest, but then closed her mouth with a small sigh. She handed over her cell phone to Danny. “Can you make sure I get it back, please?”
“I’ll do my best,” Danny said and then nodded to Maria, and they disappeared into the restaurant.
Kathleen turned toward Enzo. “What now?”
“Now we drive to Nice.”
“Nice? As in Nice, France?” Kathleen asked.
Enzo nodded as he grabbed her hand. “Come on, we have to move.” He walked quickly down the alley and made a left at the end. Parked facing the street was a BMW X5M. He gestured to Kathleen to get in the passenger side, and he slid in behind the wheel.
“Here.” He handed Kathleen a navy hoodie. “Put this on. And this,” he added, handing her a dark ball cap. Tuck your hair up. When you’re done, there are sunglasses in the center console for you.”
“You’ve thought of everything.” Her comment was muffled by the hoodie going over her head.
“I hope so,” he muttered as he pulled on a black hoodie. He also donned a ball cap and sunglasses. He started the SUV and then hit the accelerator. “It’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Nice, and then we will catch a train to Paris. And then on to Versailles.”
“The garden at Versailles is huge.” Kathleen tucked a wayward lock of hair under the cap. “And the map doesn’t seem that detailed. How the hell are we going to find the treasure in all that space?”
“That’s tomorrow’s problem,” Enzo said. He didn’t bother to mention that today’s problem was getting there without anyone finding out that they’d left. A lot could go wrong with this plan, and he didn’t want to get ahead of himself on this hunt. He needed to focus on the here and now.
“Well, I guess the actual location helps quite a bit,” Kathleen commented.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I’m guessing it’s not gold bullion if it’s hidden in the garden at Versailles.” She frowned. “I guess it could be, but that would be a lot of burying, and I’m not sure you could get away with that without someone noticing and asking questions.”
Enzo grinned. He hadn’t even thought of that yet. It was also tomorrow’s problem, but she was right. “The treasure must be manageable then, you’re right. Nothing massive.”
“That’s a positive and a negative. It’s great that we don’t have to figure out some way to move it, but damn, that makes it harder to find. If it’s a bunch of diamonds buried somewhere in all those acres, it’s going to be damn hard to find.”
Enzo grimaced. She was not wrong. A sinking sensation hit his stomach until he pushed it away. “Like I said, tomorrow’s problem. We must get to Versailles first. Then we can start trying to figure out that mess.”
Kathleen went silent. Enzo glanced at her, but she seemed to be studying their surroundings as they drove. Hopefully, she was relaxed or as relaxed as she could be. He sure as hell wasn’t. He was keeping an eye on the road behind them, but so far, no tail. Or at least not one he could see.
Settling more deeply into his seat, he let his mind go back over the conversations he’d had with Rocco and Massimo. It was obvious that the grandfather didn’t trust Rocco to bring Bianca home, but did Rocco trust Bianca? They were sworn enemies, but Rocco had said something on the call, among all the insults and blaming Enzo, that had made him uneasy. He’d said Bianca knew just the right buttons to push to get what she wanted. It was a trait Enzo had always admired about her. Then Rocco said it was about high time she got what she deserved. What did that mean exactly?
Various scenarios ran through his head, but the one that kept rising to the top was the most frightening of all. Bianca working with Vitale was a definite possibility. She would think she could handle Vitale easily, but what if Bianca and Rocco were working together?
“What are you thinking about?” Kathleen asked. “You look angry.”
